Barnes' Revenge: The Return of the 'Butt Ugly' Flag

Steve Scroggins

Steve Scroggins is a volunteer contributor to the Georgia Heritage Council who lives in Macon.

Barnes' Revenge: The Return of the 'Butt Ugly' Flag – Commentary by Steve Scroggins

Shock and disbelief vastly understates my reaction to the proposed new Georgia license plate design.

A friend called me on the telephone and described the new tag and stated that the story was on the front page of the AJC. I had skimmed my local paper (Macon Telegraph) and had not seen any reference to new Georgia tags. So my first thought was that this friend was pulling my leg...then I went online to find this story. I'm not making this up, folks.

New Georgia car tag
Proposed new Georgia license plate

Ugly blue Barnes flag
2001 Barnes flag, the "ugliest flag in North America"

The North American Vexillological Association described the 2001 Georgia flag as follows:

They [NAVA members] disparaged Georgia’s flag as "a scalawag", "desolating", "simply awful", "hideous", and "by far the ugliest". Its complex design violates all the principles of good flag design, incorporating a seal, lettering, and a series of miniature historic flags (in incorrect order). One person derided it as "Five Flags Under Georgia".

Who in their right mind---with minimal eyesight---would not immediately connect these two images above based on their similarity? All they had to do was add the county name sticker (in yellow/gold of course) in the bottom center to make the tribute to the Barnes blue rag complete.

The election of 2002 that Booted Barnes (and made Perdue Governor by default) was a state-wide mandate for a Fair vote on the State flag. Everyone with a pulse now knows that SONNY LIED about the Fair vote; instead we got a sham hoax referendum.

But more that just a mandate for a Fair flag vote, the 2002 election was also an unequivoacal, unambiguous, IN-YOUR-FACE repudiation of the ugly blue Barnes flag. So...I ask again, WHO in their right mind would propose the car tag above given the well documented preferences of the people of Georgia?

And even presuming a politically tone-deaf idiot in some DMVS ivory tower, the AJC article suggests that Gov. Perdue approved it. He's a liar but he's not a fool. I hear through my sources that Perdue is backpeddling on the tag with reporters and you can bet that by Sunday or Monday he will publicly distance himself from this car tag. So WHY the heck didn't he veto this ugly thing BEFORE it was public since he had nothing to lose (like millions in Chamber campaign contributions) ??

Maybe Perdue will promise the people of Georgia a chance to vote on the tag of their choice. Ha! Wouldn't that be a hoot! Would Georgians believe him this time?

Talk about moxy! Not only have they spit on your grandpa's grave and lied about your sister, NOW they're going to slap your momma and stomp on your grandma's sore foot! The same people who had the gall to give us the INSULTING rigged hoax referendum----AND THEN lie about it and say they gave us a choice---- have the gall to rub more salt in the wound and add more insult to injury and insult.

Flaggers have been working to keep the Flag Lie & Insult in the public eye and fresh in the memories of Georgia voters. Of course, we have long memories and we'll never forget. But there has been concern that voters might forget the INSULT of 2004 and the LIES of 2002-03 given declining coverage of flagging events in the news media. The flaggings have continued...but the news coverage of them has diminished. I'm not suggesting or denying that there is some motive (other than weariness of the subject) in that. I'm just stating a fact. This car tag will certainly help refresh the memories of the voters, and for that, I'm thankful.

Hey, Joe...you remember that ugly blue flag Barnes gave us?
Yeah...what about it?
It's baaaaaaaack. Only now there will be millions more...on the backside of most motor vehicles.

I'll be curious to see what the online polls show of the overall public reaction to these tags. Have a look at some of the comments on the AJC blog site today.

Comments on New Georgia License Plate
wow, that’s the ugliest plate we’ve had in the last 10-15 years, and that’s saying a lot. I keep hoping we’ll get a better design, but just like the flag, it keeps getting uglier and uglier. ---Greg
I think it looks terrible. I don’t like the blue tags and I don’t like not having county names on them anymore. ---JG
Reminds me of the politician flag, same as usual. Why not let the people vote on a new tag? Oh yea,I forgot about the all mighty dollar they sold us out for. ---Jay Jarrell
Is that the best idea anyone could come up with? Look at all the out of state plates that come through our state. If our powers that be can’t do better than this blue tag, then call another state for help. --Susan
I think that is ugly. It is to dark. Why can we have some that is more colorful. We always have something that is plain. I guess it like the flag we really never get to voice our opinion on anything, they just change it whether we like it or not. ---Debbie
That is ugly. What is wrong with people? -- Jake H
The new plates are a very nice Yankee Blue. Can I get a personalized plate that reads “UGLYPL8”? ---Jason
Ok so Georgia already has the ugliest licenses, now this will give us the ugliest license plates as well. Good Job Georgia ---TJ
Good God NO! That butt ugly blue plate reminds me of the old Michagan plates and the ugly plates Delaware used for years. What idiot came up with that color scheme? Run him out of the state, NOW! ---Greg
I am going to get a specialty plate just to keep from having to put this ugly tag on my SUV. --JG
I thought Michigan had the ugliest plates until I saw our new one. Here’s a thought: instead of spending a gazillion dollars redesigning plates, how ‘bout building another lane or two on I-85?? ---Mike
The tag is butt-ugly and the color clashes with my new car. ---Wanda

So there you have it folks...the phrase "butt ugly" keeps coming up.

You know, come to think of it, the new little "peach" emblem at the top right of the tag does give the impression that Perdue is "mooning" us.

I'm reminded of the phrases that were typically used to describe the ugly blue Barnes flag. Besides the nice ones like "that ugly blue thing," and "a Denny's placemat," and a "souvenir from a theme park--'Five Flags Under Georgia'" and the "Barnes rag" were more colorful phrases like...

[sensitive types should avert their eyes from this paragraph immediately!!]
"the blue t***" (a four letter word denoting a piece of feces) and "the blue butt***er" ----a nine letter conjunction denoting the function of toilet paper. You get the idea.

Since Perdue has spent so many millions exaggerting his budgetary skills in TV ads, "revenue enhancement" seems a plausible ulterior motive for the car tag change. THE PLAN: Design a 'butt ugly' tag so hideous that millions of drivers are willing to pay the state the exhorbitant fees for specialty tags in order to avoid putting the monstrosities on their cars----and thus result in a windfall to the State treasury.

There are about 8 million registered vehicles in Georgia (according to Motor Vehicles Division) and let's say that about one car owner in four (25% or two million) thinks the new tag is just too 'butt ugly' for their cars. If they pay the $25 annual fee (in addition to standard fees and ad valorem taxes) that's an extra $50 million the Atlanta pols can apply to their favorite Pork cause. Make the flag super ugly and the figure could be $100 million or more.

If Mark Taylor had any sense of history, he would immediately launch an ad campaign promising the citizens of Georgia a chance to vote on their car tags. He would win a big upset just as Perdue did. Then in four years, I can just see the ads that Taylor would run while trying to win re-election:

Butt ugly.

WHY would we ever go back?
Paid for by the Re-Elect Mark Taylor Committee

If Sonny Perdue was wise, he never would have told such Bold Faced LIES to the people of Georgia about a flag vote. And, if he had a pulse and a non-flat brainwave, he would run away from this ugly new car tag like a scalded dog. Will he have the gall to suggest a Fair TAG vote? Or will he blame the SNAFU on some bureaucrat? Is the DMVS announcing new tags without Perdue's approval? Hmmmm....

Somewhere today, Roy Barnes sprayed coffee or orange juice on somebody when he saw his morning newspaper. He's probably still rolling on the floor laughing.

If you folks are getting the idea that some X-Files parodies are in the works on this new car tag...you'd be absolutely right. Count on it.

Related Links
AJC Blog: What do think of the new tag?

New Georgia License Plates have more color - ajc.com

Georgia has ugliest flag on the continent - NAVA.org

Georgia Trend repeats the BIG LIES - A Rebuttal – Commentary by Steve Scroggins

Rebuttal to AJC B.S. on referendum - Steve Scroggins

Sonny LIED: The Official Georgia State Sign - X-Files

SonnyLIED2.us - the website

The Parable of the $100 bill - Steve Scroggins

Referendum on flag snubs state's heritage - Calvin Johnson

Georgia Chamber of Falsehoods Mounts Propaganda Blitz - Steve Scroggins

Politicians Betrayed Georgia voters on their flag - Carl Sears

Atlanta Village Idiots Promote their Rainbow flag - X-Files

Steve Scroggins lives in Macon and contributes most of GHC's parody and political cartoons and graphics.